Meta calls Australia's proposed news tax 'grossly unfair'

Meta has launched a formal broadside against Australia's plan to tax social media platforms for using news content, describing the proposal as poorly designed, discriminatory, and likely to leave Australian journalism more dependent on government money, not less.

The Labour government's News Bargaining Incentive (NBI) would require Meta, Google, and TikTok to either negotiate commercial agreements with local media organisations or face a levy of up to 2.25% of revenue generated in Australia.

Funds raised through the tax would be distributed to news outlets based on the number of journalists they employ, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Meta didn't just complain about the financial hit. They said the News Bargaining Code would turn Aussie journalism into a state-subsidised deal, where the government picks who gets money, not markets. 

In their formal response, Meta declared, "This law is poorly designed, grossly unfair, and will fail to deliver a diverse and sustainable news industry." They repeated this zinger in their submission to emphasise how flawed they think the proposal is.

The company also complained the code targets only a few foreign firms, leaving others like Microsoft and Snapchat untouched, even though they offer similar stuff. So, it's not fair at all.

Meta went further, arguing that the NBI violates commitments made under the Australia–United States Free Trade Agreement, a claim that, if pursued formally, could draw Washington into a dispute that Canberra has so far framed as purely domestic media policy.